The Shop Cop - Jennifer Litwin

MY FAVORITE WEEKENDS SPOTS TO GET AWAY WITHOUT THE KIDS AND JUST RELAX

1) AMERICAN CLUB IN KOHLER, WISCONSIN www.destinationkohler.com. I love the Kohler Resort for a beautiful, peaceful getaway, especially if you love playing golf and peaceful tranquility, which the resort offers.  I just visited a few weeks ago, having spent a nice, quiet weekend without the kids, and playing golf at Golf at the Bull, a fantastic (and less expensive than the pricey Kohler course) public course right next to the PGA golf course at Kohler.  There are lots of cute little romantic spas and restaurants not to be missed in the little Kohler Village.  If you love Baker Furniture, the Kohler family, who owns Baker, has done a great job of furnishing the resort with elegant Baker Furniture and Kohler Bath fixtures that surround the entire luxury resort.

2) EL MONTE SAGRADO IN TAOS, NEW MEXICO www.elmontesagrado.com/.  I was lucky enough to win a weekend trip to this 5-star, award-winning newer, very romantic resort nestled in the heart of the quaint town of Taos.  I had always wanted to visit New Mexico, and Taos, in particular.  The surrounding terrain is beautiful and so are the views, but I especially love the little private villas, with big fireplaces, luxurious bedding, private little pools, spa, and organic food at the intimate dining room.  If you are a lover of Southwest food, hiking and river rafting, this resort is a must.

3) EAGLE RIDGE RESORT AND SPA IN GALENA, ILLINOIS www.eagleridge.com.  Yes, even in Illinois you can find breathtaking views and a beautiful resort in the middle of the country.  If you love hiking, skiing and relaxing in a cozy spa with fireplaces burning everywhere, Eagle Ridge is the place for you.  I love the relaxed atmosphere in the restaurants on property, perfect with or without the kids, the beautiful hills and mini-mountains, and luxurious rooms inside the lodge–great for a romantic weekend.  If you are bringing your family, you may wish to rent one of the newer and  larger homes that can accommodate up to twenty people.  The town of Galena is well worth the visit.  I love to play golf, and enjoy the award-winning US Open golf courses on the property—there are 4.

4) FOUR SEASONS HOTEL IN WHISTLER, BRITISH COLUMBIA www.fourseasons.com.  To get away from it all, winter or summer, I love this little newer, less stuffy Four Seasons Resort in Whistler.  The view of the flower-, grass-, and tree-covered mountains make me realize why this jewel was chosen as the spot for the 2010 Olympics.  For a romantic weekend, enjoy the pool, hot tub and elegant bar/restaurant.  This is a wonderful place to be trapped during a winter storm!  On the weekends in the summer, visit the best farmers market in the world, with fresh, organic meals and dishes prepared right at the booths—local produce is some of the best I have had.

5) SHANGRI-LA HOTEL IN VANCOUVER, CANADA

www.shangri-la.com.  This Asian hotel chain is one of the best in the world, paying attention to every detail and designing beautifully appointed rooms.  Look no further for your evening’s romantic date than the high tea room on the first floor, or relax in the most luxurious bathrooms that boasts large tubs and televisions.  Right in the heart of beautiful Vancouver, and just steps away from the water and mountains.

EXPENSES YOU MAY HAVE TO BUDGET FOR THAT YOU MAY NOT HAVE ANTICIPATED

Driving down your block do you say to yourself, “I can buy two of my houses now that I could only buy one of before”, having seen the real estate market tank to its lowest level in decades?  You may be missing the entire picture.  True, you may have initially bought your first home as an investment, but now the complications in the market, due to lack of financing options, rising interest rates and an unstable job market have made buying two houses virtually impossible for the average American.

RISING COSTS OF HOME OWNERSHIP

• Property Taxes on the Rise: Counties are hurting, financially, so they are eager to raise property taxes.  Here’s the catch-22: if you want to refinance to get a better rate you will have to have an appraisal.  But if you then try to appeal your property taxes you will probably be forced to show proof of any home appraisal performed within the past three years.
• Utilities More Expensive and Continually Going Up: It is becoming more expensive to use regular water, electricity, cable and gas.   Most of these bills won’t come down unless you drastically change your lifestyle.
• Closing Costs Have Gone Up: In general, closing costs are going up, so refinancing will have an added cost, maybe not anticipated.
• More Difficult to Get a 2nd Mortgage Now: Banks are less willing to take on risks now, even with their best customers.  If you can’t squeeze into one mortgage, skip the next purchase.
• Furnishing a House is No Small Task: The cost of manufacturing furniture has risen in the past few years, and shipping prices have gone up.  Though there are more quality resources available to the public, prices of interior home construction and furnishings is on the rise.  The most expensive part of home ownership right now is inside the home.  The repairs, and if you have an old house, the modernizing that needs to get done every few years.

One of my favorite things to do in the Fall is to take my kids to the apple orchard.  We each have our own favorite kinds of apples.  My favorite is the Honeycrisp, a man-made apple variety.  If you go to the orchard, you need to know when the different apples will be ready for picking.  The span is 3 months for most varieties in the midwest.

Radke Orchards is located in Northwest Indiana, just across the border from Illinois.  It takes about an hour to get there from Chicago.  Radke Orchards is more reasonably priced than comparable orchards nearby.  Radke doesn’t have much in their tiny store, but their trees are all tagged well, your kids can take an open truck ride through the orchards, and there are ladders for easy access.  I also love the homemade caramel, coming in every variety—watch out for kids with braces!

BEST VARIETIES FOR FALL APPLE PICKING IN THE MIDWEST (FROM RADKE ORCHARDS, WHO ALSO HAS OTHER APPLE VARIETIES)

Cameo

· Sweet-tart flavor, firm apple
· Excellent for salads, pies, sauces, and baking
· Good for eating also
· Harvest time: mid-October

Cortland

· Sweet with a hint of tartness
· Juicy
· Tender, snow white flesh
· Excellent for eating, salads, sauce, pies and baking
· Good for freezing
· Cortland apples do not turn brown quickly when cut.
· Harvest time: mid-September

Crispin/ Mutsu

· Sweet yet very refreshing
· Very juicy
· Super crisp
· Excellent for eating, sauce, baking and freezing
· Good for salads and pies
· Crispin favorite roast.
· Try Crispins for roasting whole apples or thick slices.
· Harvest time: mid-October

Empire

· A wonderful blend of sweet and tart
· Juicy
· Very crisp, creamy white flesh
· Excellent for eating and salads
· Good for sauce, baking, pies and freezing
· Small Empires are great for school lunches.
· Harvest time: early October

Fuji

· Very mild sweet flavor
· Popular for desserts because of sweet flavor and good texture
· Store well
· Harvest time: late September

Gala

· Mild sweet flavor
· Juicy
· Crisp, creamy yellow flesh
· Excellent for eating and salads
· Gala’s size, mellow flavor and thin skin make them a perfect choice for kids
· Harvest time: early September

Golden Delicious

· Mild sweet flavor
· Juicy
· Crisp, light yellow flesh
· Excellent for eating, salads and sauce
· Good for pies, baking and freezing
· You can cut down the sugar in pies and sauces made from Golden Delicious apples.
· Harvest time: late September

Granny Smith

· Pleasantly tart flavor
· Firm, crisp flesh
· Good for eating, baking, salads, pies and freezing.
· Keeps shape when cooked
· Harvest time: late October

Honeycrisp

· Complex sweet-tart flavor
· Super crisp yellow flesh
· Excellent for eating and salads
· Good for sauce, baking & pies
· This ultra crisp apple is a great way to encourage healthy snacking by children.
· Harvest time: early September

Idared

· Sweetly tart
· Juicy
· Firm pale yellow-green flesh, sometimes tinted rosy pink
· Excellent for sauce, cooking, baking and pies
· Good for eating, salads and freezing
· Idareds are good for making a beautiful pink applesauce.
· Harvest time: mid-October

Jonagold

· Honey sweet with a hint of tartness
· Juicy
· Crisp, creamy yellow flesh
· Excellent for eating, salads, sauce and baking
· Good for pies and freezing
· Jonagolds make great fried apples. Simply sauté in a little butter and add a little cinnamon.
· Harvest time: early October

Jonathan

· Crisp and juicy, tart flavor
· Excellent for eating and baking
· Good for salads, sauces, and pies
· Harvest time: mid-September

McIntosh

· Sweet with a tart tang
· Very juicy
· Tender, white flesh
· Excellent for eating and sauce
· Good for salads and pies
· McIntosh’s tender flesh cooks down quickly. Add a thickener if making a pie.
· Harvest time: early September

Red Delicious

· Sweet
· Juicy
· Crisp, yellow flesh
· Excellent for eating and salads
· Red Delicious apples look great for a long time and are the favored choice for holiday centerpieces.
· Harvest time: late September

GREAT APPLE RECIPES

1) RADKE’S APPLESAUCE

This is our method of producing applesauce. You can make as little or as much as you like.

We wash and quarter the apples, taking out the seeds but leaving the skin. The skin contains the natural pectin that will thicken the sauce. We use our seconds for sauce so we do take out any bad spots from the apples. Place the apples in a saucepan and add a very little amount of water. Cook the apples, stirring as necessary to prevent sticking. We put the mixture through a food mill to remove the skins and any seeds. Wait until the sauce cools before deciding if any extra sugar is needed. We don’t add any extra sugar to our sauce.  We often use a mixture of apples. Golden Delicious apples used alone makes a lighter colored sauce.  We prefer freezing the sauce using canning jars that are freezer safe. We have canned sauce using the hot water bath method.

2)  RADKE’S APPLE CRISP

• 6 cups sliced, peeled apples
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place apples in 8×8 baking pan. Mix remaining ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle over apples.

Melt 1/3 cup butter and drizzle on apple mixture. Sprinkle cinnamon on top. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes. This recipe comes from the St. Paul Lutheran Cookbook, Otis, IN through Bonnie Martin’s Aunt, Lois Burge.

Radke Orchard traditions – I’ve seen my mother-in-law, Gladys Radke, sprinkle a little vanilla and/or cinnamon over the apples before she adds the crust mixture. She adds the cinnamon before the crust because the cinnamon on top makes the crust a darker brown. She adds the vanilla because her mother-in-law, Jessie Radke, always added vanilla to enhance the apple flavor. When doubling this recipe, sometimes more crust mixture is necessary. We prefer Ida Red apples, although Golden Delicious work well also. Mutzu makes a crisper crisp, as those apples remain crisp when baked. A soft apple, such as McIntosh, makes a softer crisp. We use enough apples to generously fill the baking dish.

GARDEN WRITER OF DISTINCTION: DEBRA PRINZING

www.debraprinzing.com

Contributing Garden Editor, Better Homes & Gardens

Contributing Editor, Garden Design magazine

Regular Contributor, Los Angeles Times HOME Section

Debra’s work also appears in Country Gardens, Sunset, Fine Gardening, Horticulture, Landscape Architecture, Organic Gardening, The American Gardener, Flower magazine, Alaska Airlines magazine, Seattle Homes & Lifestyles, Cottages & Bungalows, and others. Debra’s work will soon appear in Canadian Gardening and Style at Home.

Photo credit: Mary Grace Long

It is not every day that you meet a reporter who has covered every imaginable topic within their field. Just spending 5 minutes with Debra Prinzing is a true learning experience. Debra, one of the country’s most well-respected and recognized writers, with a true passion for all things having to do with the outdoors (and indoors, I should mention), has an endearing way of teaching how to tackle even the most vast garden. Though I live in a city home, I love beautiful country gardens, interesting containers and organic foods. Debra’s garden tips appeal to people living in all parts of the country, as she helps break down gardening in the most understandable way.

Debra’s sites and blogs:

www.debraprinzing.com

www.afreshbouquet.com

MY INTERVIEW WITH DEBRA PRINZING

Me: How did you develop a passion for garden writing and turn your love for the garden into a career that has grown exponentially over the past few decades?

Debra: My background is an interesting combination of textiles, journalism, garden design and horticulture. I have a BA in Textiles, but during my senior year in college I transferred to the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC, where I worked on an advertising and communications minor. There, I took a class in magazine journalism, which soon became my first love, thanks to my professor named Anne Bernard. She encouraged me to pursue an internship with Seventeen magazine, which I did. And that led to my first job after college, working in the education department at Seventeen magazine (I edited a magazine called Seventeen-at-School, which was sent to high school home economics teachers in the 1970s and 1980s).

Later, after returning to Seattle, I studied international business and marketing while working on a Masters of Communications degree at the University of Washington in the late 1980s. I thought I was going to cover the fashion industry, which was burgeoning at the time in Seattle. And that’s exactly what happened. I joined a regional business newspaper and covered the “chick” beat—all design-oriented businesses, like fashion, retail, hotels, restaurants, advertising, media and architecture. And sadly, I never finished that degree.

In 1997, I was working as Director of Communications at an international nonprofit agency. I remember sitting at my desk, looking out my window and saying to myself: I want to be a garden writer. That sounds strange, but after graduate school I realized that I had all the tools to be a features writer and reporter. My background studying textile design gave me the language of design principles, so that wasn’t a concern. But I knew that simply being an avid home gardener wasn’t enough—I had to improve my knowledge of plants and horticulture.

Thanks to my dear friends, who have influenced and helped me over the years, I dove feet first into the horticulture and design world 15 years ago. I have been an active garden, design and outdoor lifestyle writer ever since. When I started, my two closest friends were garden designers, so I have learned the business vicariously through them. Karen Page and Jean Zaputil—I call them my Garden Muses. Simple networking led to my first paying “gig”. I was having coffee with a woman who I wrote about when she was President of Seattle’s largest woman-owned advertising agency. I mentioned wanting to get into garden writing to Charmel and she said: “Oh, I’m buying media for a new garden center. Do you want me to connect you with my client?”

That simple connection led to a 3-year relationship with Emery’s Garden in the Seattle area. I learned so much from the smart and talented people at that nursery. They encouraged me to use my skills in writing, editing, events planning, PR, marketing and seminar development to promote the nursery. From them I learned all about plants, especially growing plants in the Pacific Northwest.

Me: You probably get asked this question a lot, but do you work in your own garden all the time?

Debra: Jennifer, the sad story is that I have created and left behind three gardens since 1989. Two were in Seattle and one was in LA. Nothing makes me happier than to putter in soil, play with plant combinations and decorate my garden with furniture and ornamentation. One of my favorite literary sayings is by Beverly Nichols, a British garden writer from the first half of the 20th century:

“…surely, if you are privileged to own a plot of earth, it is your duty, both to God and man, to make it beautiful.”

The next chapter is exciting, as we have returned to Seattle after 4 years in Los Angeles. By this summer, I hope to be again in possession of my own little plot of land. Right now, I’ve turned my creative energies to floral and container design…those are portable gardening projects that one can do whether she owns a garden or not.

Me: Portability is definitely an important option for garden lovers who must move often. How did you get the idea to write a book about garden sheds and all that you can do with sheds?

Debra: Off and on between 2000 and 2006, I worked as the Garden Editor for a magazine called Seattle Homes & Lifestyles. I was also covering homes and gardens for a daily newspaper called The Herald, which is published in a suburb of Seattle. In my role for both of those publications I scouted gardens constantly. It seemed to me that nearly every garden I toured and wrote about was occupied by a fanciful garden shed. Not just a crummy storage unit, but an ornamental structure at the heart of a landscape.

After a while, these gardens sheds grew on me! Another friend of mine invited me to meet the owner of a garden shed building company called “Garden Solutions”. My friend, Cindy, invited me to tour several of the company’s clients’ garden sheds. All of a sudden, I was seeing sheds that were used for all sorts of purposes other than for storing tools and lawn mowers. One owner had a retractable roof that opened so he could watch the stars through his telescope. One woman used her shed as a pottery studio, while another entertained her grandchildren with tea parties.

The first newspaper story I wrote appeared in 2000 and was called “Shed Chic”. For my second story, which appeared in Seattle Homes & Lifestyles, the Art Director hired an architectural photographer named Bill Wright to do the photography. That story was called “Garden Getaways”. After that piece appeared in 2001, Bill and I started producing garden stories for Romantic Homes magazine. Again, it seemed like every garden we covered contained a beautiful, romantic or whimsical garden structure. At one point, I said to Bill: We should do a book about these sheds. And that is what happened. The book, Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways, was published in 2007.

Me: I know you are speaking all over the world these days—there is so much interest today in the garden—what kinds of speaking engagements are you working on?

Debra: My current focus as a speaker relates to my next book project, A Fresh Bouquet: Seasonal, Local and Sustainable Flowers. I love spreading the word about the benefits (to the environment and to humans, alike) of sourcing floral ingredients from the garden, local flower farms, U-Cut Fields, farmers’ markets and those that have been wild-gathered or foraged. This spring I will be speaking on this topic at Canada Blooms in Toronto, the largest indoor flower show in Canada, and at the Denver Botanic Garden’s spring lecture series, as well as at major horticultural societies and garden centers in the Northwest. By September of this year, I will assume a 2-year term as President of the Garden Writers Association, our main professional organization for garden and horticulture communicators. We have 1,800 members with information and resources to stay competitive. Education and training will be my focus as president.

Me: Most of us are novices in the garden. What’s your advice to help us get started?

Debra: Nothing beats walking through a garden gate into a friend’s backyard, as I did, asking him or her questions, like “what is this plant?” or “how do you grow that plant?” Every county in the US has Master Gardener training programs. Once you are certified, as am I, you “give back” to the community by volunteering at demonstration gardens or local horticultural events. When I did my MG training, I was 38 years old, so I ended up working side-by-side with people as old as my parents. Their experience and wisdom rubbed off on me.

I also recommend joining your local horticultural society. These groups hold monthly educational meeting with great speakers on relevant topics to their region. They have plant sales and opportunities to volunteer on garden tours. Once you start meeting kindred spirits, you will not be able to resist getting more involved in the garden.

Organic food lovers have so many wonderful options. Most cities or regions of the country have Edible magazines, such as Edible Seattle. In these magazines you can find out about food and wine festivals, local farmers growing interesting crops, or raising delicious ingredients. The “foodie” world and the gardening world are converging. All you have to do is check the bookstore shelves to notice an explosion of grow-your-own vegetable gardening book titles!

Photos copyright © William Wright, www.williamwrightphoto.com

Read about my new book project with photographer David Perry:
www.afreshbouquet.com

Check out my GWA Gold Award-winning book, Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways with photographer William Wright (Random House/Clarkson Potter, 2008)

As featured in LA Daily News

According to The Freedonia Group, the $5 billion outdoor furniture and grill industry will continue to grow 5.4% annually through 2008. An obvious indicator that Americans are “living to the outdoors” more than ever.

Home furnishings expert and author Jennifer Litwin explains that the “outdoor room”’s popularity among homeowners is driving patio furniture and grill sales. “Today’s outdoor living area reflects the homeowner’s indoor style,” Litwin explains. “The days when the patio is filled with flimsy plastic furniture and umbrellas that blow away in the wind are gone.”

Litwin explains that this year’s trends for outdoor furniture and accessories are: weather sustainability, plush seating, elegant flooring and an entertainment area that provides proper electricity, gas and water for the space.

Some of Litwin’s favorites are:

Continue reading »

As featured in The Cincinatti Enquirer
As we enter the summer months and think about entertaining outside we are faced with furniture and fabrics that look dirty, rusty and faded. Spending money on outdoor furniture and fabric is not always a priority because we know that natural fading, discoloring and breakage will occur as the furniture sits outside.

“Shop Cop” and consumer reporter, Jennifer Litwin, has some tips for your outdoor furniture:

1. Chairs with sling fabric: Sling fabric, like all outdoor fabric, becomes faded, torn and dirty over time. Every few years we think about replacing the entire chair or having it reupholstered. Since chair styles don’t change that often it doesn’t pay to throw out the old chair that you love and replace it with a new chair. You can replace the sling yourself for $60-75 per chair. A new sling chair usually costs more than $150, including the fabric. You can select your own fabric from hundreds of swatches, order a sample to be sent to your home for free, give a company measurements and they can make the replacement piece for you, and send you the simple hardware for you to put the sling on, yourself, in just minutes. I would explain how to take measurements and apply the fabric, yourself. Here is an example: very standard outdoor seat.
2. Chairs with straps: We all remember the chairs we had 30 years ago, with the straps. Surprisingly, the styles haven’t changed much in lawn furniture. So instead of throwing out the old chairs and replacing them today for hundreds of dollars (usually at least $200 apiece), you can buy your own straps for $2-5 each, and put new straps back on your existing frame. I recently put straps on, gave my deck a new, brighter, colorful look in just minutes (I can demonstrate), with the right set of basic tools, and the right measurement of the strap. For under $100 I had new chairs, and put it together quickly. Very easy and attractive. Again, I would explain how to take measurements and apply the straps, yourself. Also give info on where to get the parts.
3. Taking care of your outdoor fabric: Avoid using bleach on your fabrics. Avoid dipping them into the pool-will cause fabrics to fade and dry out. Use simple products like Fantastic, 408, or even mild dish soap. Continue reading »

As featured in Forbes and Yahoo Finance.

With the summer months approaching, many homeowners are thinking about entertaining and dining outside. But, what can be done about dirty, rusty and faded outdoor furniture?

“Shop Cop” Jennifer Litwin, author of “Furniture Hot Spots” and “Best Furniture Buying Tips Ever!” has these tips for sprucing up your outdoor furniture:

1. Don’t buy new! You can replace chair fabric yourself. Since chair styles don’t change that often, it doesn’t pay to throw out the old chair that you love. You can replace the sling yourself for $60-75 per chair. A new sling chair usually costs more than $150, including the fabric. If you give provide measurements, the manufacturer can make the replacement piece for you and send you the simple hardware for you to put the sling on yourself.
2. New life for old strap chairs: Surprisingly, styles haven’t changed much. Instead of throwing out old strap chairs and replacing them for hundreds of dollars (usually at least $200 a piece), you can buy your own straps for $2 – 5 each, and put new straps back on your existing frame For under $100, you can have new chairs, and put it together quickly.
3. Treat outdoor fabric gently: Avoid using bleach on your fabrics and DON’T dip them into the pool. This will cause fabrics to fade and dry out. For clean up, use simple products like Fantastic, 409, or even mild dish soap.
4. Remove rust from iron: Iron furniture often gets dirty and rusty. To clean, simply use a good car wax and buff with a soft cloth.
5. Best new products to avoid rusting and fading: Coated plastic and titanium are popular new outdoor materials and don’t rust or blow away in the wind. Treated paints and foam products can be kept out year round, and can be used on tables and chairs. Heavier aluminums function like iron but don’t rust as quickly.
6. Replacing fabric cushions: Notice I said “replacing” here. Usually, you can’t match the colors because the fabric colors fade over time, and color palettes change. Your best bet is to replace all the fabric on your outdoor pieces.
7. Great website for more help: Chaircarepatio.com.

A stylish shed – all your own

10 design tips for creating the backyard shed of your dreams.

By Debra Prinzing | Photography by William Wright

Do you dream about a place of escape? In merely one-hundred-square feet or so, you can design and create a private garden retreat, a tranquil space to pursue your heart’s desire.

Working with Seattle photographer William Wright to create Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways, I have visited close to 100 sheds occupying city gardens, suburban backyards, and quiet country fields. Each of these highly personal destinations provided design inspiration, revealing many possibilities for creating a tiny building with big impact. There are infinite ideas to explore, depending upon your space and ambition. Here are my top design tips:

1. Check local building codes for zoning guidelines. Sheds usually categorized as an “accessory building” or “temporary building.” There may be a maximum size (often 100- to 200- square feet) under which you can build a backyard shed without a permit. Adding electricity, water or other utilities will likely require a building permit. And be sure to ask how close to the property line or main residence you are allowed to build.

2. Identify the activities that draw you outdoors: Are you creating art, making music, writing poetry, growing flowers, playing with children, stargazing, entertaining friends, or meditating? Virtually any personal passion can find a home in a small, but distinct garden shed.

3. Consider the shed’s architectural role in the landscape. Is it a design focal point or intentionally hidden from view? Will its outer walls support vines and climbing roses? Or will the shed be a backdrop for displaying flowerpots, artwork or sculpture? Will it camouflage an unsightly view? Is it for pure function or pure folly – or a little bit of both? Continue reading »

As featured in the Los Angles Daily News

Inside out.

That’s the theme in outdoor furniture this season, as designers borrow what’s fresh and fun from interior design and put it on the patio.

And outdoor rooms aren’t just for dining and entertaining anymore. This summer, the focus is on relaxing in sumptuous comfort. Still, it’s not all about indulgence. There’s also an emphasis on sturdier, and more eco-friendly, materials.

And worshipping the sun? That’s so George Hamilton. Instead, be on the lookout for innovative awnings and umbrellas that stylishly block out the glare.

Here’s a more detailed look at what’s new under the sun:

MODERN LOVE

The mid-century modern look is moving out – to the backyard. And there’s nothing subtle about this trend. “We’re seeing great, molded heavy plastic furniture that you can keep out year-round,” says Chicago-based home furnishings consumer expert Jennifer Litwin. “It’s strong and sturdy, and it comes in a lot of funky colors. It’s like planting a beautiful flower in your yard.”

SWEET SANCTUARY

The concept of the outdoor room has expanded from living to lounging. It’s bedding in the backyard, with an emphasis on comfier yet still weather-resistant materials. Among the hot items? Tandem chaise lounges.

“We sell more double lounges than single,” says Brendan Barry, owner of Barong Furniture and accessories in West Hollywood, whose outdoor furniture offerings are primarily teak and iron. What does this say about the L.A. lifestyle? “Let’s just say people like to cuddle,” he says with a laugh.

Continue reading »

As Featured in the Dallas News

By Marni Jameson

If there were laws against furniture abuse, I’d be in jail. All winter long, I leave my patio furniture outside, uncovered, to endure freezing temps, hammering rain, hide-peeling sun and berry-eating bird assaults. Meanwhile I stay warm, dry and sun-protected inside. Then, about this time of year, I expect my outdoor furniture and me to pick up where we left off.

Turns out I have some making up to do.

The cushions take the worst beating – and not all due to laziness, though that’s partly to blame. The main reason my cushions languish outside all year is because the time is never right to bring them in. When it’s nice out, I don’t want to bring them in because it’s nice out. I might want to sit outside.

When it’s crummy out, I don’t want to bring them in because it’s crummy out. I don’t want to be outside.

When the skies clear, the cushions are wet or snow-covered, and I don’t want to bring them in until they dry. So I wait until it’s nice again. The cycle continues until we’re back to warm weather.

So when I heard that outdoor-furniture makers had started making furniture and fabrics that could withstand this abuse, I got even more excited than I did when Starbucks got drive-through. I felt vindicated.

“Gone are the days of slip-covering outdoor furniture at the end of the season,” said Jennifer Litwin, a Sotheby-trained furniture expert and author of Best Furniture Buying Tips Ever! (House of Collectibles, $14.95), who was singing my song.

Continue reading »